photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty: When walls speak and we listen > White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, 2007
previous | next
08-NOV-2007

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, 2007

This ruin, built by ancient Puebloan people within a cave on the canyon wall, is over 1,000 years old. If you view this image at full size, you can read some “recent” graffiti left on its white plastered wall, some of it dating back more than 130 years. This image casts its spell only when we notice those carvings. Casual tourists did not leave these names and dates. Just getting to this place must have been an accomplishment. Knowing this, the old graffiti becomes a symbol of endurance rather than vandalism. Today, this cliff house is off-limits. We can look, but not touch. We are left to live the story of this place through the autographs of its long dead visitors.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/800s f/9.0 at 74.2mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis03-Dec-2007 18:41
You don't have to be a student of history to appreciate the value of the message here, Tricia. The words that are in the image, as well as the words that support the image in my caption, should provide enough context for meaning. Thanks for the kind words on the lighting -- that, too, helps tell the story by defining the shape of the ruin and bringing out the colors of its surroundings.
flowsnow03-Dec-2007 14:24
Another gorgeous shot Phil. I am not good with American history, so I will not discuss much on this but rather on what I like about the shot. Love the lighting, Phil.
Phil Douglis26-Nov-2007 23:57
One of the things that becoming a serious photographer will do for you, Patricia, is to hone your eye for things like this. In 1994, you were not the photographer you are today, and your mind screened the graffiti out. If you went back today, you would probably see it very much as I saw it -- a piece of history rather than vandalism.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey26-Nov-2007 23:05
What a fascinatng image and discussion! One I'd never really considered before. I know that I am very taken with the graffiti in downtown Detroit--seehttp://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/image/76119879--but I'd not thought about how this street art might be construed by persons years hence, were it to survive. When I was in Canyon de Chelly in 1994 I don't even recall seeing the writing on those ancient walls. I'm sure the tour guide probably pointed it out but I was too mesmerized to hear. This encourages me to do my part to archive Detroit's graffiti art before it disappears.
Phil Douglis24-Nov-2007 23:47
I was standing near Dave when he made that story-telling shot. Your comment on both Dave's image and this one are fascinating and get me to thinking about the role of litter and graffiti in history and archeology. When I was in Pompeii, I viewed two thousand year old Roman graffiti on the walls of what once was a brothel that did more to humanize ancient Rome for me than any other relic of that era. In its own time, that graffiti was just someone wanting to express his pleasure or displeasure with a prostitute by writing about it on a wall. The bottles that Dave photographed, if plowed under, may someday illuminate an aspect of life at Ship Rock. And the autographs on this ancient Anasazi ruin are already considered of historical value by the National Park Service. They have not been painted over, and the site is fenced so that they can't be altered or removed.
Phil Douglis24-Nov-2007 23:46
I was standing near Dave when he made that story-telling shot. Your comment on both Dave's image and this one are fascinating and get me to thinking about the role of litter and graffiti in history and archeology. When I was in Pompeii, I viewed two thousand year old Roman graffiti on the walls of what once was a brothel that did more to humanize ancient Rome for me than any other relic of that era. In its own time, that graffiti was just someone wanting to express his pleasure or displeasure with a prostitute by writing about it on a wall. The bottles that Dave photographed, if plowed under, may someday illuminate an aspect of life at Ship Rock. And the autographs on this ancient Anasazi ruin are already considered of historical value by the National Park Service. They have not been painted over, and the site is fenced so that they can't be altered or removed.k
Tim May24-Nov-2007 18:05
This reminds me in some ways of the image by Dave Wyman (http://www.pbase.com/image/88749546 ) of the bottles near Shiprock and causes me to think about this balance of reverence for antiquities and nature and the lessons me learn from those who weren't so reverent in the past. http://www.pbase.com/image/88749546
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment